Molecular Characterization of Branchial aquaporin 1aa and Effects of Seawater Acclimation, Emersion or Ammonia Exposure on Its mRNA Expression in the Gills, Gut, Kidney and Skin of the Freshwater Climbing Perch, Anabas testudineus

10.1371/journal.pone.0061163PLoS ONE84

Adjunctive rifampicin for Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (ARREST): a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia is a common cause of severe community-acquired and hospital-acquired infection worldwide. We tested the hypothesis that adjunctive rifampicin would reduce bacteriologically confirmed treatment failure or disease recurrence, or death, by enhancing early S aureus killing, sterilising infected foci and blood faster, and reducing risks of dissemination and metastatic infection. METHODS: In this multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, adults (≥18 years) with S aureus bacteraemia who had received ≤96 h of active antibiotic therapy were recruited from 29 UK hospitals. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) via a computer-generated sequential randomisation list to receive 2 weeks of adjunctive rifampicin (600 mg or 900 mg per day according to weight, oral or intravenous) versus identical placebo, together with standard antibiotic therapy. Randomisation was stratified by centre. Patients, investigators, and those caring for the patients were masked to group allocation. The primary outcome was time to bacteriologically confirmed treatment failure or disease recurrence, or death (all-cause), from randomisation to 12 weeks, adjudicated by an independent review committee masked to the treatment. Analysis was intention to treat. This trial was registered, number ISRCTN37666216, and is closed to new participants. FINDINGS: Between Dec 10, 2012, and Oct 25, 2016, 758 eligible participants were randomly assigned: 370 to rifampicin and 388 to placebo. 485 (64%) participants had community-acquired S aureus infections, and 132 (17%) had nosocomial S aureus infections. 47 (6%) had meticillin-resistant infections. 301 (40%) participants had an initial deep infection focus. Standard antibiotics were given for 29 (IQR 18-45) days; 619 (82%) participants received flucloxacillin. By week 12, 62 (17%) of participants who received rifampicin versus 71 (18%) who received placebo experienced treatment failure or disease recurrence, or died (absolute risk difference -1·4%, 95% CI -7·0 to 4·3; hazard ratio 0·96, 0·68-1·35, p=0·81). From randomisation to 12 weeks, no evidence of differences in serious (p=0·17) or grade 3-4 (p=0·36) adverse events were observed; however, 63 (17%) participants in the rifampicin group versus 39 (10%) in the placebo group had antibiotic or trial drug-modifying adverse events (p=0·004), and 24 (6%) versus six (2%) had drug interactions (p=0·0005). INTERPRETATION: Adjunctive rifampicin provided no overall benefit over standard antibiotic therapy in adults with S aureus bacteraemia. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment

PhD chemistry graduate seminar series on medicinal chemistry

The Chemistry Department College of Science invited the academic community to the PhD Chemistry Graduate Seminar Series on Medicinal Chemistry on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 1800-1940H Title Speaker 6:10-6:50 Virtual Screening of Natural Products Library for M2(S31N) Inhibitor Melody Clerigo (PhD Chemistry Student) 6:50-7:30 Use of peptidomimetics to develop potential SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics Sarah Diane C. Ong (PhD Chemistry Student

A correlational study on self-congruity, suggestive advertisements and purchase intention

In the field of advertising, sex is usually used as a technique to sell products. This paper aims to further discuss how the sexual self-concept influences the purchase intentions of consumers through the type of advertisement used. Three motives of the sexual self-concept will be focused on-sexual self-efficacy, sexual self-esteem and the sexual self-motivation of the consumers. 220 students from De La Salle University were asked to complete a survey composed of the Multidimensional Sexual Self-Concept Questionnaire and a scale that measures their purchase intention. Factorial Repeated Measures was used in order to generate the correlation between the sexual self-concept and the purchase intention of the consumers. Male participants who scored high on the sexual self-concept preferred suggestive types of advertisements that are non-suggestive which can be explained by self-referencing and the Sexual Objectification Theory

A feasibility study on twisted photo pedestal (Innovation Next Inc.)

The proposed business venture of Innovation Next Inc. proved to be feasible based on the findings of the study. The optimistic results of the survey prove that there is a demand for the Twisted Photo Pedestal. The respondents\u27 willingness to buy show that the product has a potential demand in the target market. The interviews with novelty shop representatives regarding the appeal of picture holders reinforce the potential demand for the Twisted Photo Pedestal. A satisfactory Net Market Acceptability Rate of 63.06% was also computed. The proponents defined its target market to be young professionals and household members who are open to new product concepts. In addition, the proponents can manufacture the product with a 95.88% efficiency rate using the assembly line method. The study also showed that the production capacity could meet the demand of the market. The management and legal study shows that the company can meet the requirements necessary in order to establish a corporation. The financial study indicates that business operations can be financed without incurring a net loss. Based on conservative estimates, the company will break-even by the second month

Chinese Students Learning English as a Second Language

The way in which different cities teach children to read in Chinese may have an impact on the skills they later utilize to acquire English word reading skills. This study examined the relative contributions of several cognitive–linguistic measures to English word reading for Chinese students learning English as a second language in two Chinese cities, one whose school system teaches Pinyin (Beijing) and one whose school system does not teach Pinyin (Hong Kong). Students in grades 2–3 completed measures on Chinese morphological awareness (MA), Chinese phonological awareness (PA), Pinyin writing, and English word reading. In the Beijing group, it was found that PA (β = 0.334, p p p < 0.05) was found to be a significant predictor of English word reading. The difference in predictors could be due to the availability of a phonological tool (Pinyin) for the Beijing students when learning Chinese, while the Hong Kong group may have relied more heavily on learning using MA and rote memory techniques. Overall, the results from this study provide data supporting the benefits of having a phonological tool like Pinyin for Chinese children when learning to read in English

Solvent-Free Dynamic Nuclear Polarization of Amorphous and Crystalline ortho-Terphenyl

Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) of amorphous and crystalline ortho-terphenyl (OTP) in the absence of glass forming agents is presented in order to gauge the feasibility of applying DNP to pharmaceutical solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance experiments and to study the effect of intermolecular structure, or lack thereof, on the DNP enhancement. By way of [superscript 1]H–[superscript 13]C cross-polarization, we obtained a DNP enhancement (ε) of 58 for 95% deuterated OTP in the amorphous state using the biradical bis-TEMPO terephthalate (bTtereph) and ε of 36 in the crystalline state. Measurements of the [superscript 1]H T[subscript 1] and electron paramagnetic resonance experiments showed the crystallization process led to phase separation of the polarization agent, creating an inhomogeneous distribution of radicals within the sample. Consequently, the effective radical concentration was decreased in the bulk OTP phase, and long-range [superscript 1]H–[superscript 1]H spin diffusion was the main polarization propagation mechanism. Preliminary DNP experiments with the glass-forming anti-inflammation drug, indomethacin, showed promising results, and further studies are underway to prepare DNP samples using pharmaceutical techniques.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant EB-002804)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant EB-002026)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant GM095843)Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Postdoctoral Fellowship)German Science Foundation (Research Fellowship CO 802/1-1